al-Intisar li-Ahl al-Athar al-Matbu bi-Ism Naqd al-Mantiq
- Author died
- 728 AH
- Editions
- Dar 'Ata'at al-'Ilm
al-Intisar li-Ahl al-Athar al-Matbu bi-Ism Naqd al-Mantiq (Championing the People of Hadith, Printed as "Refutation of Logic") is a theological treatise by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyya (661–728 AH / 1263–1328 CE) defending the theological methodology of the early Muslim generations (al-Salaf) and the People of Hadith (Ahl al-Hadith), and critiquing the status of formal logic.
Origin and Naming
The work originated as an extensive response to a query submitted to Ibn Taymiyya concerning theological doctrines. The original manuscript bore no title assigned by the author, beginning directly with the inquiry: "A question: What is your opinion on the doctrine of the Salaf...?"
When the scholar Muhammad Hamid al-Fiqi first prepared the text for publication in 1370 AH, he consulted Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al al-Sheikh regarding a title. Drawing on a reference in Ibn Abd al-Hadi's al-'Uqud al-Durriyya to Ibn Taymiyya's writings against logic, they chose the title Naqd al-Mantiq (The Refutation of Logic). This designation led later scholars—including Muhammad Bahjat al-Bitar and Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin—to treat the book primarily as a concise treatise against Greek logic in contrast to Ibn Taymiyya's larger work, al-Radd 'ala al-Mantiqiyyin (The Refutation of the Logicians). Later editorial analysis by the researcher Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan Qayid noted that the title Naqd al-Mantiq reflects only the final section of the text, prompting the restoration of a descriptive title reflecting its primary subject: al-Intisar li-Ahl al-Athar.
Subject Matter and Structure
The treatise addresses a two-part inquiry:
- Whether the creed of the Salaf or that of the later speculative theologians is more correct, whether Ahl al-Hadith hold greater claim to sound guidance, and whether subsequent generations developed valid sciences unknown to the Salaf.
- The legal ruling on the study of formal logic and whether it constitutes a communal obligation (fard kifayah).
The first topic occupies three-quarters of the book. In it, Ibn Taymiyya argues for the obligation of adhering to the path of the Sahaba and their successors, asserting that their way in creed entails affirming the divine names and attributes mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah without addition, omission, figurative reinterpretation (ta'wil), or anthropomorphic comparison (tashbih). He substantiates this position using historical statements from early authorities while also addressing shortcomings among some claimants to the tradition and criticizing opposing theological schools.
The final quarter of the work is devoted to the second topic, refuting the claim that Greek logic is an indispensable science or a communal obligation for Muslims.
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